1967 Mustang Fastback - Cajun Uprising

Transmission shops are supposed to build transmissions. No, we're not competing for the Captain Obvious award, but in-between swapping out servos and replacing smoked clutch packs at Arcadiana Transmission, they just happen to build stunning street machines that can go toe-to-toe with the most respected and well-established car builders in the country. Owner Joe Brown does all this in his spare time, in a small inconspicuous corner of his shop. Considering the caliber of craftsmanship showcased in his creations, it seems rather preposterous that few people outside of the small town of Lafayette in southern Louisiana have ever heard of him. That's about to change big time, because after seeing the magnitude of this man's talents before you in high-res glory, he's going to be on everyone's radar.

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Hot Rod Joe's Rod and Custom was formed almost by accident. Joe has been in the transmission repair business for nearly two decades, and as an avid hot rodder, he always had personal project cars in various stages occupying space at his shop. "People saw the kinds of cars I was working on, and started asking me to build cars for them as well. It dawned on me that if I can make a few extra bucks on the side, then I could use that money to build my own personal cars," Joe says. "It's still a secondary business, but it's growing very fast. We might just be a small shop in rural Louisiana, but I definitely think we can go up against the big guys."

Sure that's a bold statement, but the closer you inspect Joe's '67 Mustang fastback, the more obvious it becomes why he's so confident. Originally a 302 small-block car, the factory motor and four-speed trans were long gone by the time he picked it up four years ago at a swap meet. In fact, just about everything was missing, as the Mustang was nothing more than a bare hull. Fortunately, most of the sheetmetal was solid, and only the driver-side doorskin needed replacement. At first, the plan was to drop in a 4.6L Mod motor, rebuild the suspension, then go cruising. That evolved into fortifying the entire chassis, which further morphed into an all-out Pro Touring project with modern technology and aesthetics. "Since this was my own personal car, I had free reign to do whatever I wanted to, and there were no limitations. The idea was to integrate lots of mechanical elements and subtle body mods without taking away from the character of the car," Joe says. "Chrome and shiny parts were out of the question. Everything had to be hand-ground, hand-sanded, and hand-smoothed. Now that it's finished, even people familiar with early Mustangs can't put a finger on exactly what model year Mustang the car is."

4/17With clearance at a premium due to the height of the blower, Joe had to make his own hood. He started out by placing a piece of residential foam insulation on the motor, then cut it down to shape. Using the foam as a guide, he hand-laid fiberglass until achieving the desired shape. Had he paid someone else for the labor, he figures the hood would have cost $10,000. The finished product is extremely lightweight.

One of the Mustang's most prominent visual cues is its killer stance, but there's far more to it than just massive visual appeal. Typically, getting a car to sit this low involves an elementary hack job that nets half a millimeter of suspension travel. To avoid bludgeoning the bumpstops into pancakes and punishing his lower back, Joe completely re-engineered the chassis. The entire unibody was cut from the A-pillar forward, and from there, Joe custom-fabricated a new front clip. This allowed moving the suspension pickup points upward, and tucking the control arms and spindles high up into the chassis. The backend received similar treatment, with custom framerails and brackets for the four-link and shocks pushed way up into the body. Much like in a '70s NASCAR chassis, the entire driveline, suspensions, and exhaust are squeezed so tightly into the body that nothing hangs below the floorpan. Equally impressive is a central backbone that runs the length of the frame, ties into the rollbar, and triangulates the chassis at critical stress points. This harmonious convergence of moving parts, wrapped in a steel exoskeleton perfectly, captures the mechanical essence Joe hoped to achieve. "When we started fabricating the chassis, everything below the rocker panels was cut off," he says. "The floorpan, radiator support, and the entire front clip are brand new. Packaging the engine, driveline, suspension, and exhaust so high up in the body was the most difficult part of the build, but it was well worth the effort."

5/17The mesh pattern on the grille is a custom-stamped pattern. To lend a more aggressive appearance, the factory valence opening has been enlarged. The front spoiler is one of the few original body pieces since it sits so low to the ground and is prone to damage.

In order to justify the custom chassis, tubular front control arms, four-link, and QA1 coilovers, the Mustang packs a legit wallop. Power comes from an '03 Cobra-spec 4.6L crate motor from Ford Racing. Huffed by a Kenne Bell twin-screw supercharger, the twin-cam small-block churns out 720 hp. Gear reduction comes by way of a Tremec T56 six-speed manual trans and a McLeod twin-disc clutch, which send the ponies back to a Ford 9-inch rearend. Not surprisingly, Joe can't stop raving about the on-throttle experience. "This car is a beast to drive. It's so awesome you can't keep your foot out of it," he says. "It idles very quietly, but gets raspy and starts screaming when you're on it, and that's the way it's supposed to be. We've built lots of show cars for customers, so we wanted people to see that you can have show car looks in something you can still drive and have fun with on the street. This Mustang does just that."

6/17It's the fine details that count. The MGW shifter handle was supposed to be covered up by the boot. However, Joe liked the way it looked so much that he decided to leave most of it exposed. He felt that the handle's various shapes and angles added to the car's industrial look.

Upon opening the doors, the industrial flavor hits overdrive. With easy access to a water jet cutting machine, Joe put it to good use. A brushed aluminum instrument panel cover, door handle pulls, speaker grilles, and trim rings are scattered throughout the cabin. Likewise, aluminum strips accent the doors, center console, and headliner. Many of the aluminum bits are attached using button-head screws, a nice touch that's reminiscent of a fighter jet's skin that's riveted onto the fuselage. Since a standard rollbar would look too ordinary, Joe bent up a custom twin-hoop design. Adding to the cause are drilled steel foot pedals and doorsills. "The interior is meant to be as mechanical-looking as possible. I wanted to see how far I could push the envelope without looking gaudy," Joe says.

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In some respects, Joe's Mustang is a microcosm of the Pro Touring creed. Although it looks sweet, functionality is still the order of the day. As innovative as it may be from an aesthetic standpoint, simply getting everything to work properly demanded exhaustive engineering expertise. That's not too bad at all for a small shop operating out of the corner of a transmission rebuild facility. This summer, Joe wants to see how well his car stacks up against the big boys by entering his Mustang in the 2011 Street Machine of the Year competition. Who will win is anyone's guess, but it's safe to say that Hot Rod Joe's Rod and Custom is going to put up one heck of a fight.